vegoftheweek

Inside The Oven: My top posts. Week Links: Ditto.

So most of you have seen the T-Mobile “Who’s In You Fave 5?” commercials. Perhaps you’ve even been scorned after learning your not as important to your grandma as she tells you after looking through her purse for her blood pressure medicine and discovering, “Ruth, Herbert, Bob’s Pharmacy, Pastor Mark, and 1-800-Dial-a-Happy-Story have left no room for your seven digits. Not to fear, because you can be in at least someone’s Fave 5: mine. By visiting my blog, you have created my Fave 5: the top five most popular posts I’ve made so far.

I’d thought it’d be nice to share it with you in case you’ve just climbed aboard or missed a couple of weeks. (Shame on you for doing so. Start feeding yourself already.) So take a look at my top five posts, play catch-up if you have to, or refresh your memory and tastebuds.

Meat and Greet: List of Vegetarian Meat-By far the most viewed. Everything you ever wanted to know about what’s out there in terms of fake meat from Fakin Bacon Tempeh to Boca Burgers. 

Vegan Nacho Cheese Dip. Ah…Those Festival and Sports Arena Memories-Because all the other vegan nacho cheeses don’t spread and melt to my liking.

The Quest For Uncle Eddie’s, The Best Vegan Cookies, Wherever They May Be-I think most of the Whole Foods have had their transition from Wild Oats complete by now, but you never know. A post born out of my frustration of not being able to find my favorite vegan cookies. A real transcript of the types of conversations I had with the employees is included.

Interview With Singer Missy Higgins: She really digs her monster wraps-Did you know this lady doesn’t believe in encores? But it’s a good thing. Let me explain. At one of her concerts I attended, she stated that she really didn’t believe in them because it’s not fair to have your audience standing around and clapping for an eternity in hopes of having your favorite band come back out and play a couple of songs after you’ve already clapped for them a dozen times and been standing on your feet forever. Good deal. So she will let you know when it really will be her last song. Oh, and she can’t eat anything with red peppers in it. She didn’t give the details. Many that was for the best.

Marinated Tempeh Recipe: 3rd Time Really Was A Charm-I gave tempeh the ultimatum. We had so many bad experiences in our relationship. Taste good or I’m moving on to commit with tofu. Tempeh stepped up now I still see it from time to time. Tofu doesn’t mind, as it’s quite open.

Even though this list represents the most popular posts, I’m sure it doesn’t include everyone’s favorites. What’s your favorite post or recipe? Any topic you’d like to see me cover more?

Week Links:

Haven’t I given you enough already?

Inside The Oven: What To Do With That Tempeh You Made 3 Months Ago. Week Links: Crab-Less Crab Cake Helped Citizens Bank Park Earn Most Veg Friendly Sports Venue Title.

Ahh…What to do with that tempeh you made 3 months ago.

While trying to think of a title for this creation, I switched between Seedy Avocado Tempeh Temptation and Sunflower Avocado Tempeh Temptation. I needed to find the right name to capture the meaning of the recipe. So I thought for awhile and asked myself questions such as, “What does it mean to be a “sunflower” sandwich? Where do you get a “seedy” sandwich? From a deli in a rough part of town? (Where there are establishments designed to bring on…ahem..temptation?) I hope you appreciate my deep philosophical efforts as much as my cooking ones.

I decided on Sunflower Avocado Tempeh because “sun” gives connotations of happiness (emotions you’ll feel when eating this), and summertime (August is hot isn’t it?). It’s also what my focus group decided on. I won’t tell you all the demographics of my focus group, but one member is a cat…who loves carbs…more on that for another post.

So you probably remember the story of how my friend and I decided on a restaurant that would suit both her carnivorous and my veg desires (well, mainly mine, but it always looks good to pretend to compromise). I told  you I found an eatery with marinated tempeh on a sandwich, but I only gave you the recipe for the marinated tempeh. It’s part of my suspense tactic. Get recipe for Sunflower Avocado Tempeh after the break… (more…)

Inside The Oven: Tempeh Recipe, Plus Sexy Lettuce Ladies Stop Traffic, Spiderman No Longer Vegetarian, Vegetarian Biscuits and Gravy Recipe in Week Links.


My early experiences with tempeh were less than rewarding. I had been frying tofu sprinkled with spices in a tablespoon of oil in a skillet for some time and wanted to add another source of protein in my diet. I thought this could be accomplished with tempeh as well. Plain tempeh, that is, with no spices, grains, or flavors. After tasting the results, I vowed never to eat tempeh again.  

A couple of years later, I found a recipe that required breaking up the tempeh patty into pieces, mashing it, mixing it with vegetables and spices, then forming a patty again and baking it. Deconstruct, reconstruct. Tear down. Build Up. The directions themselves should have served as a warning. Unless you're an engineer, there should be nothing about that recipe that entices you. But I tried. And failed.

 

  

Finally, a friend and I were going through a phase where we were eating out almost every week and in the process of trying to find a restaurant  I considered suitable,  (she's not vegetarian) I would read the menus online before even calling to check about particular ingredients. Although we never made it to this restaurant, I found a marinated tempeh dish whose combination of spices and oil in the marinade sounded good and I decided to experiment at home to give the good old soy cakes another try. More on tempeh, my experience and the marinated tempeh recipe after the break… (more...)